Hey folks,

Jad here. Just want to let you guys know that Radiolab will be commissioning a lot of stories in the next year. So if you’ve got a great one, we’d like to hear it. No matter the topic.

We’re looking for stories. Not topics, not ideas, not scientific findings. We want a character who goes through a series of events that create emotional ups and down and transform them in some way. A couple things we think about when it comes to story hunting (and probably none of this will surprise you):

• It needs to be surprising. Really surprising. The story or the way you tell it or the thought at the end needs to feel like something we haven’t heard before.

• It should hopefully play out an idea, lend insight into some problem, or just raise a question.

• It should strike a balance between big thoughts and real human consequence. Or it should just be over-top joyful.

• It should ideally have an element of the universal that reflects on all of us in some way.

• You should have access to the voices that can tell it well. Show us that you can get inside the experience of the story.

You can throw anything at us, but in case it helps, here are some things we've been thinking about lately

Empathy…can it be engineered?
Punishment…can it be avoided?
Football…can it be less-violent or will that make it suck?
Courtrooms…just courtrooms.

And here are some open-ended phrases or words that we’re hoping might gather a crowd

born pregnant
fluke
memory hole
portals

We just like those words.

If any of this sparks a story idea please write us a few paragraphs and send it to radiolabpitches@gmail.com. Please put PITCH in the subject line. If we’re interested we’ll discuss it internally at a Friday pitch meeting and let you know within a month if we’d like to take next steps. If we’re not interested, we’ll let you know that too.

Thanks.